Just when you think it’s safe to enter the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes, this happens. Stay with me. It’s a long article.

I have a relative (for the purpose of this article we will call him Bill) who was recently scammed out of almost $40,000. Sounds impossible, right? What law-abiding, hard working, money saving senior would not see it coming? Yet fraud happens every day, especially to our senior adults. In fact, the scams are so frequently successful that they are being given names such as “The Senior Lottery, and the PCH scam.” That’s the one that got Bill.

What fond memories I have of Ethel Nicely Cobble! It is hard now to even research my teachers. I know we think, “Oh, I can remember that”, but time slips away and memory fades. In Union County Schoolday Memories, there is a picture of Ethel Nicely as a student at Union School, though it is difficult to clearly identify the rows for a positive identification. Nonetheless, when working on “Schoolday Memories,” I was told that Mrs. Cobble taught many years in Union County Elementary Schools before teaching 31 years at Horace Maynard High School.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, has approved a plan to expand military veterans’ access to chiropractic’s non-drug approach to pain relief. Many veterans suffer from back pain and other musculoskeletal conditions resulting from their service. Supported by several veterans groups, the approved language calls for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to expand the availability of chiropractic services at no fewer than two medical centers or clinics in each Veterans Integrated Service Network (VLSN) by no later than Dec.

In the world, not of the world! Well, if ever there was an oxymoron contest, that statement must surely take the cake. If you didn’t know the Bible very well, one could think this is a contradiction. How is it possible for human beings to be in the world and not of the world at the same time? Answer: JESUS! As we like to say, that is the short answer. Some people will tell you that is all the answer we need and that we must take it on blind faith that Jesus is the answer. Well, you know what Jesus Himself said about the blind leading the blind. Jesus never demanded blind faith of His disciples or anyone else. As a matter of fact, Jesus encouraged people to ask questions!

Mincey’s Musings
Year One, Week Thirty-Seven

I have been blessed with family on my father’s side that are just humorous people by nature. It’s inbred—they can’t help themselves. What makes them so funny is that they aren’t trying to be funny.

How do you like your omelets? Mother never made one as I remember growing up. Eggs were either fried or hard-boiled. With no electricity or ways to keep food cold and a well stocked chicken coop, my family ate a lot of eggs. Mother never heard of omelets back in the day. Dad liked his eggs only one way, fried with the yolk soft and on buttered toast. Mother had no reason to fix eggs any other way.

When Tim first told me he wanted to go into taxidermy, I was excited. I thought it was going to be a fun adventure. Ooh boy! I got the adventure part correct.

“Hey, that squirrel looked like it was in pretty good shape.” We had just driven by a dead squirrel lying on the road.

“Uh, it’s dead.” My mind had yet to grasp the full extent of Tim’s new endeavor.

“Yeah, I know.” Tim pulled over to the side of the road and turned on the hazard lights.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

I’ve bragged about our areas plant diversity in the past. The mountainous terrain dissected by rivers and streams creates an incredible variety of habitats that supports more plant species than anywhere but rain forests. One example of this species richness is a tree that is not only growing far out of its normal range but has a most peculiar growth habit that helps it survive.

When as a child you first learned to cook, what was the first recipe you tried? For me, it was cookies. It is hard to mess up a cookie recipe. Pies can be tricky and cakes have a multitude of things that can go wrong. Cookies are more forgiving. You might have had your mother squeeze the lemon for this recipe, but that would be the only hard part. Or for your first time making cookies, your mother could stir up the dough and then let you prepare the cookies for baking.

Junior Appalachian Musicians, Inc. (JAM) has announced its partnership with South Arts of Atlanta, Georgia. The two non-profit organizations will be collaborating on In These
Mountains: Central Appalachian Folk Arts & Culture, a special project that will focus on developing seven new after school JAM programs throughout Eastern Tennessee.